'Economic downturn offers huge opportunity for agri sector'

CHANDIGARH: State-run UCO Bank on Sunday said that the world wide recessionary trends have thrown up huge opportunities for the traditional agriculture and the agro processing sectors.

The fiscal stimulus given by the government to increase investment in the agriculture sector will lead to capital formation and increased productivity in the agriculture, industrial as well as services sectors, the bank's Executive Director V K Dhingra said.

The banking sector has taken focused initiatives to supplement the fiscal efforts of the government with hassle free, accessible and cost effective credit through initiatives like comprehensive financial inclusion by branch expansion, technological interventions and organic growth measures, he said in a statement here.

UCO Bank being a leading bank in Himachal Pradesh has already achieved 100 per cent financial inclusion and would wish to replicate the experiment in Punjab with expansion of branch network and technology enabled distribution channels.

He said that the changing tastes of the rising middle class, expansion of organised retailing and integration of Indian financial services with the international financial system has facilitated the diversification of agriculture and horticulture giving rise to the new business opportunities to the agri entrepreneurs.